Rhode Island: who needs a license to work on your chimney or fireplace?

Checked Sep 2026·Laws as cited·All 4 records checked Sep 2026

Public recordRI LAW

For consumer remedies, home-sale rules and carbon monoxide law, see Rhode Island chimney & fireplace laws — know your rights. That page was verified Sep 2026.

Stove & insert installation: is a credential required in Rhode Island?

#stove-installLICENSE

Credential: Decorative Heating Appliances Limited II license (DLT trade license) — scope verbatim: 'gas fired logs; gas, pellet, or wood decorative appliances and their related flue connections and terminations; replacement flue liners for residential installations only'; 'Municipal permits for installations shall be issued to this licensee'; fuel piping not allowed; PREREQUISITE IS A PRIVATE HEARTH CERT: 'current certification from the National Chimney Sweep Guild or the National Fireplace Institute' + 2 yrs notarized experience — NCSG/NFI WRITTEN INTO RULE; whether a primary-heat freestanding stove counts as a 'decorative appliance' and whether this license is the exclusive path vs CRLB registration = UNVERIFIED (§§ 28-27-4, -5 silent); central solid-fuel hydronics fall to Pipefitter licenses; CRLB registration names 'Masons, including chimney installers, fireplace installers' (§ 5-65-3) and bars permits to unregistered contractors; NEW: exam-based CRLB residential contractor LICENSE (ch. 5-65.4, P.L. 2025 ch. 421) required from 1/1/2028 for new 1–4 family construction and 'structural' remodeling — reach over stove installs depends on CRLB rules due by 1/1/2027; CODE: RISBC-2 = 2021 IRC eff. 12/1/2025 (ch. 10 adopted unchanged); P.L. 2026 ch. 377/378 require the 2024 IRC for 1–3 family by 1/1/2027
Issuing body: RI Dept. of Labor & Training — Division of Professional Regulation (Bureau of Pipefitters et al.); RI CRLB (registration; 2028 license); municipal building officials (permits)
Statute: 260-RICR-30-15-2.22(I) (authority R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-7); R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 5-65-3, 5-65-2(a)(4); ch. 5-65.4 (eff. licensure 1/1/2028); RISBC-2 510-RICR-00-00-2; § 23-27.3-100.1.5 (P.L. 2026 ch. 377/378)
Dollar threshold: none for the DLT license; CRLB registration exemption < $500 casual/minor work (§ 5-65-2(a)(4))
Exam: n state exam — NCSG or NFI certification required by rule instead (ch. 5-65.4 license will carry a CRLB exam from 2028)
Local overlay: n
Confidence: high (rule text); medium (mandatory reach over all solid-fuel installs) · checked 2026-09-25
Sources: GOVrules.sos.ri.gov/regulations/part/260-30-15-2GOVrules.sos.ri.gov/regulations/part/510-00-00-2GOVwebserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE5/5-65/5-65-2…GOVwebserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE5/5-65.4/5-65…GOVwebserver.rilegislature.gov/PublicLaws/law26/law26377.htmGOVdlt.ri.gov/regulation-and-safety/profe…

Chimney flashing: is a credential required in Rhode Island?

#chimney-flashingLICENSE (COMMERCIAL ONLY); REGISTRATION (RESIDENTIAL)

Credential: Commercial Roofing license is COMMERCIAL-ONLY by definition — § 5-73-1: 'roofing' = work on or about the roof of any NONRESIDENTIAL structure 'and shall specifically include sealing, water proofing, weatherproofing, related sheet-metal work, and similar work'; 'nonresidential structure' 'shall not include any residential structures consisting of four (4) dwelling units or less' — so chimney flashing/leak repair on a HOUSE needs only CRLB contractor registration (no exam; pre-registration education course; casual/minor work under $500 exempt, § 5-65-2(a)(4)) while the same job on a commercial building needs the exam-licensed commercial roofer (PSI exam, $2,000,000/occurrence insurance, OSHA-10, 12 hr CE — carried from July); no residential roofing license exists; NOTE the 2028 CRLB residential license (ch. 5-65.4) targets new construction and 'structural' remodeling — flashing repair is unlikely to qualify, pending CRLB rules due 1/1/2027
Issuing body: RI Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board (CRLB)
Statute: R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 5-73-1, 5-73-3; ch. 5-65 (§§ 5-65-2, 5-65-3); ch. 5-65.4; 440-RICR-10-00-4
Dollar threshold: $500 (casual-work registration exemption); none on the commercial license
Exam: y (commercial license); n (residential registration)
Local overlay: n
Confidence: high · checked 2026-09-25
Sources: GOVwebserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE5/5-73/5-73-1…GOVwebserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE5/5-65/5-65-2…GOVwebserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE5/5-65.4/5-65…GOVcrb.ri.gov/licenses/commercial-roofing…GOVcrb.ri.gov/continuing-education

Gas fireplace service: is a credential required in Rhode Island?

#gas-fireplace-serviceLICENSE

Credential: Split by fuel: natural gas piping/appliance work = Pipefitter licenses (Master/Journeyperson I & II) or Plumber (Master/Journeyman); LP = PJF/Propane Gas Service Master II (warm-air furnaces <= 500,000 BTU; may service propane burners; no boilers) / Journeyperson II (Limited) — Journeyperson II scope 'limited to the installation of propane tanks, regulators, including residential gas stoves, gas logs, gas grills, and space heaters', works under a Pipefitter Master I or II, propane burner service <= 500,000 BTU; PLUS a hearth-named lane: Decorative Heating Appliances Limited II (§ 2.22(I)) — 'gas fired logs; gas, pellet, or wood decorative appliances and their related flue connections and terminations; replacement flue liners' (residential), fuel piping NOT allowed, requires current NCSG or NFI certification + 2 yrs experience; explicit LP vs NG split across license classes
Issuing body: RI Dept. of Labor & Training — Bureau of Pipefitters, Refrigeration Technicians, Sprinklerfitters, Sheet Metal Workers and Oil Heat Contractors; Board of Examiners of Plumbers (plumbing side)
Statute: 260-RICR-30-15-2 (eff. 1/4/2022; authority R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-7), incl. § 2.22(I); plumbers ch. 5-20
Dollar threshold: none
Exam: y (exam + 220 hr combined classroom/laboratory training for PJF Journeyperson II); Limited II = NCSG/NFI certification instead
Local overlay: n
Confidence: high · checked 2026-09-25
Sources: GOVrules.sos.ri.gov/regulations/part/260-30-15-2GOVri.gov/Licensing/renewal/license.php

Gas log installation: is a credential required in Rhode Island?

#gas-log-installLICENSE

Credential: Two lanes name gas logs: (1) PJF/Propane Gas Service Journeyperson II (Limited) — scope expressly includes 'residential gas stoves, gas logs, gas grills, and space heaters' for propane, working under a Pipefitter Master; (2) Decorative Heating Appliances Limited II — 'gas fired logs' and decorative appliances with flue connections/terminations, fuel piping excluded, NCSG/NFI certification required; NG log-set fuel piping falls to pipefitter/plumber licenses; distinct LP lane tracked separately
Issuing body: RI Dept. of Labor & Training — Bureau of Pipefitters et al.
Statute: 260-RICR-30-15-2 (authority R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-7), incl. § 2.22(I)
Dollar threshold: none
Exam: y (PJF exam + 220 hr training); Limited II = NCSG/NFI certification
Local overlay: n
Confidence: high · checked 2026-09-25
Sources: GOVrules.sos.ri.gov/regulations/part/260-30-15-2

What insurance does Rhode Island require of contractors?

#insurance

Regime: registration (CRLB contractor registration, R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 5-65, masons included) + DLT trade licenses (gas)
Liability minimum: $500,000 combined single limit public liability + property damage covering the contractor's work, in effect throughout the registration period (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-65-7(a)); WC also required as a registration condition (§ 5-65-7(b))
Bond: none for general contractor registration (§ 5-65-7 requires insurance + WC only; GC-registration bond claims not supported — specialty licenses like underground utility differ)
Guaranty fund: none — no pooled guaranty/recovery fund; CRLB runs a claims/hearing process (claims within 1 year, monetary restitution orders enforced via registration action) but no fund pays when the contractor can't
Workers' comp threshold: 1 employee triggers (all employees incl. part-time); sole proprietors/partners exempt for themselves AND (unusual) CANNOT elect to buy WC for themselves; corporate officers and LLC members MUST be covered; independent contractors file annual Notice of Designation DWC-11-IC — checkable artifact
How to verify: insurance: STATE-VERIFIED — 'satisfactory evidence to the board at the time of registration AND renewal'; COI must list policy number and the Board as certificate holder; min 6 months coverage from application date; failure to maintain INVALIDATES registration; registration lookup crb.ri.gov; WC public lookup: RI DLT online coverage verification tool
Confidence: high (insurance + WC); medium-high (no-bond, no-fund absences) · checked 2026-07-09
Sources: REFlaw.justia.com/codes/rhode-island/title-5/…GOVcrb.ri.gov/general-contractor-registra…GOVrules.sos.ri.gov/Regulations/part/440-10-00-2GOVdlt.ri.gov/workers-compensation/freque…

Download the full licensing matrix (CSV) · All states

Before anyone goes on your roof

What should you ask a chimney company in Rhode Island?

Is your company a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild (NCSG)?
Does the technician coming to my home hold an individual NCSG certification, and which one?
Does the technician hold a National Fireplace Institute (NFI) certification — and for which fuel: wood, gas, or pellet?
What other certifications does the technician hold (for example, CSIA), and can I check them on the issuer's own roster?
What state or local license or registration covers this work here, and what is the number?
Will you send a certificate of insurance, dated and naming your company, before work starts?
Which NFPA 211 inspection level — Level 1, 2, or 3 — are you performing, and why that level?
Will you show me what you found — photos or video of the flue — in writing?

We take no fee from any certification body, guild, or contractor, and are not paid to mention anyone named.